#and then the second to last episode they’re like ��you know what? nah’

[rainbowpotatocakes21]

bury your gays still being a thing in 2024 is wack

[cocogum]

Let’s talk about episodes 7 and 8….

(‼️SEASON 4 SPOILERS‼️)

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Oh boy.

We got a lot to unpack.

We start with when we last finished off in episode 6.

Eva properly gets to speak with her father Madagaskan while the others are right behind her, listening intently to them.

AND MY GOD THE EXPOSITION WAS SO GOOD.

(Good for us, not for Eva tho lol)

The fact that she and Cleophee come from the most infamous assassin’s guild is WILD. You’re telling me that its members are so good at what they do that the rulers of the world buy their offers as fast as possible cuz they’re scared that the guild could ruin them if they go to the opposite team?? That just SCREAMS how important and secretive they are!! (plus we also saw a glimpse of what one of them, freaking Madagaskan, was able to do with just rocks). But it does explain why Eva has such a good eye for combat. I can also see where Cleophee takes her hair from too. From what Madagaskan has said about Eva personally, she looks identical to her mother. (I already headcanon that Cleophee took her looks from her dad instead 🥰).

But what surprised me even more was Flopin’s decision to follow Madagaskan. Not only did he want to get taught by him, but he willingly SNEAKED OUT OF THE DAMN HOUSE to go to him!

Also, can I just say how nice it is to see what Elely and Flopin’s bedrooms looked like? I love how we got a good shot of each of their rooms, it completely encapsulates their personalities and how opposite they are to each other!

Just look at how Flopin’s room looks very organized, his books are properly in their places on the bookshelves, and the amount of papers he has. Even his bed was made and you can see how he has a map of the World of Twelve plastered on the wall just on top of his desk.

Whereas with Elely, her room is completely messy, pillows and clothes are lying around the floor on the left side of the room, her bed is not made, she has a giant tapestry on her wall, some boxing equipment like her gloves and a punching bag (which she drew Poo on it lol that’s a nice detail).

But Flopin did have a point when he talked to his grandpa. We all knew he was a loser cuz Elely and Pin were doing their own thing. I mean do you remember how exhausting it was to keep seeing Elely having so much spotlight back in season 3? My girl is awesome and all but let her breathe for a second damn.

I’m glad Flopin chose that route for himself even though it was a bit of a surprise to see him want to follow Madagaskan now.

Ngl he lists out very valid points that even we were thinking about. It just shows that Flopin is very much self-aware of his position in the family and how this makes him look. I had a feeling Flopin would have his own arc but I didn’t think he’d separate himself from his family to have one! Good for him tho but still…

This means he won’t see Elely for a long time and Pin wouldn’t get to know him as much as the rest of the Percedal family….

But at least he’ll have his grandpa 😭😭

*Meanwhile with Ruel*

“HELPING FOSTER CHILDREN IN NEED?!?? 😱😱😱 HELL NAH NOT ON MY WATCH 😡😡😡”

I can’t with this old ass man sometimes I swear 😭😭😭

I just really loved the exposition on Nora’s part where she revealed to Yugo, Adamaï, and Qilby why and how she came to rescue their mother. The colors and the style of it all were so gorgeous and mesmerizing to stare at and it made so much sense. I also noticed how in her explanation, Nora mentioned that it was Efrim who had a special connection to the Eliatrope goddess instead of her like how it was revealed to be the case in the Wakfu volume 4 manga and the Islands of wakfu game. I assumed that Ankama retconned that tiny detail too.

LESBIAN QUEENS ‼️LESBIAN QUEENS‼️LESBIAN QUEENS‼️ LESBIAN QUEENS‼️LESBIAN QUEENS ‼️

I just love how realistic all the rulers’ answers have been so far. They’re all skeptical of Yugo and his family and I don’t blame them for thinking like that. It doesn’t matter how kind and helpful Yugo can be to them. As Aurora said, everything about this is too coincidental which is how Armand concluded that there could be a traitor in Yugo’s group. Again, I don’t blame him for saying that since he just got told by Yugo that the portals from the Sadida kingdom and Albuera have a portal, leading to the necrome world, that looks a lot like an eliatrope one.

And of course, Yugo doesn’t hesitate to blame Qilby and already jumps to conclusions way too fast, immediately thinking he’s the traitor since he knows he’s the type to hop from planet to planet, not caring what happens to the places he went to just as long as he got to study them.

I love this man so much 💕💕✨

But if Yugo actually took a second to process the information, he would know that there was clearly something wrong with his accusation. Because how and where would Qilby have the energy and especially the time for all that? Yugo is completely aware that Qilby got freed by their mother and Nora not a very long time ago. If I had to assume when he was freed, I’d have to say just a bit earlier when Yugo and the others were still in Oropo’s dimension.

Not only that, but since he got freed not too long ago AND was being carefully monitored by Nora, then there was no chance he could have been the traitor. He just got out of the White Dimension (again) so he’d be drained of energy and didn’t have the eliatrope dofus and the Eliacube.

But a very important thing to note here is that Qilby was also joining Nora and the small eliatropes on the missions his mother would send them in which clearly implies that he’s not done with this world yet (he could have been participating only because he was looking for the eliatrope dofus at the time when Adamaï didn’t find them first but if that was the case, then he wouldn’t have stayed and help to fend off against the necromes since he doesn’t like it when other beings pursue him and his people without, ironically, knowing where they are).

With all these in mind, it's safe to say that Yugo’s anger towards Qilby is based on personal issues.

Their fight in the sky was so well choreographed that I just loved every single second of it and how none of their poses were recycled 💖

If I see this shit in the streets you bet ur ass I’m shitting myself.

Also,

Ankama left us with a cute little gift so unexpectedly that it made me bash my keyboard at the wall. 🥰🥰

This shot was pulled out of nowhere that it made my heart drop to my feet.

This is the living embodiment of what Yugo’s sleep paralysis demon looks like 💀

One thing’s for sure though.

I’m not ready for the next episode my stomach keeps giving me constipation symptoms just thinking about it.

[bylrlve]

Warning! Potential leaks for season five of Stranger Things!

Alex (aka @dyersfilms on twitter, used to be swiftlynatalia) is the person who successfully leaked most of season 4 due to her knowing a source. She did, however, insist Byler was entirely platonic that season and they fought for most of it and only made up at the end in the pizza van, so…

Here’s her saying she won’t post any byler leaks this time around, which she has said previously.

She got a message saying they’re all fake, and she thinks they all are, so keep that in mind.

Here’s a short one: Will distancing himself from the party bc it’s too hard to be closeted and to be around Mike. If real? Endgame fr.

A ‘leak’ from episode one where shit goes down after the opening scene of Will singing SISOSIG, Will falls, and Mike helps him up,

Here’s an extremely detailed one that casually drops Mileven breakup, Robin-Mike bonding over Vickie and Will, Will trying to avoid Mike ‘confronting him about the painting’, Mike and Jonathan fighting over Will’s safety. Nothing here is debunkable but…. Yeah. God, would it be nice, though.

The two most interesting ones. First, an ask that’s almost entirely plausible except for the mileven part - and that part, specifically, I’m calling bullshit on bc it claims that Hopper is still on the Mike Hate Train. It was made abundantly clear, after their talk and their awkwardly long hug at the end of season 4, that that’s in the past. Besides, it just wouldn’t fit tonally. S3 was the heterosexual-cliché, silly filler season. S5? Nah. Can’t 100% say it’s fake, but even Alex agrees this one isn’t real.

Lastly, an interesting one that’s plausible throughout which claims Mike gets seriously injured and spends some time in hospital. Will stays by his bedside after everyone else leaves and kisses Mike on the forehead. Mike wakes up after he leaves - I think the insinuation is that Mike does a Half-Blood Prince and wakes up knowing that someone he felt safe with was there, but he doesn’t know who it was. If that’s legit? As I said, endgame fr.

I do want to note that both the mileven and Byler asks word the ‘main character getting injured part’ as everyone being ‘shaken up’ so there are a few options: it’s the same person with legit leaks, and Byler isn’t endgame. That, I’d be more willing to accept, cautious as I am, were it not for the Hopper part, which sticks out like a sore thumb. Second option: it’s the same person messing around. Third: it’s two people, one building on the other.

Cannot emphasise enough that these are most likely just bored people having fun, but I figured I’d share them all. The last one is getting passed around the tag sans context, and I wanted to clarify everything else Alex has received. Do not get your hopes up about Byler based solely on these.

Letting my imagination run absolutely wild here for just a moment, however: Maya and Vickie are confirmed to be filming at the hospital set, presumably visiting someone. There’s also a pic of someone with bloody shoes. Imagine if Robin visits Mike in the hospital, witnesses some Platinum-Tier Will Byers Pining™️, and ends up talking to Mike after he wakes up - no mention of how long he stays there.

Lastly, it is fun comparing these to the more doom-and-gloom (re: Mike) leaks Sapphicjopper on twitter got. The awesome @solgmorell has a post explaining those in detail.

Oh, and an interview came out today where Shawn Levy said something insane but, you know, water is wet.

[sidecharactersdomatter]

Thoughts I had during TGCF S2 Ep 8

Starting this week, I’ll be finishing my TGCF S2 Reactions!

Now here we go!

Previously on TGCF…

-That’s a lot of Orcs

-Man, I’m surprised none of Qi Rong’s lackeys are noticing disguised!Xie Lian and Hua Cheng and are like, “What?  I don’t remember the boss hiring ghosts more eye catching than we are.”

-“Oh?  Would you like me to do that?”  That delivery was awesome and it got Xie Lian adorably flustered!

-They have fangs!

-XL, you stopped two guys in a sword fight in Ep 5 you’ll still come out on top

-That’s the only quality he respects

-They’re still blending in

-That’s a lot of humans

-Baby Guzi!!!

-A new disguise!!!

-He’s returned

-Xie Lian looks great as a mortal in disguise

-There’s like 20 of them

-I’m surprised another lackey is noticing disguised Xie Lian and San Lang at the end of line and says, “Hey, I don’t remember capturing those last two.  Shouldn’t we tie ‘em up with the other humans?” And then the other ghost just goes “Nah, our king we’ll be pleased with two more for his feast.”

-That creepy odd flute music

-Aw baby Guzi

-Whoever did this track, props

-He touched his hand!!!

-He’s writing hanzi!

-San Lang understood! 

-San Lang’s still savoring the touch!

-Now San Lang has a message too!

-In other words he just wrote, “Heads up”

-*Content Warning for Accidental and unintentional Cannibalism*

-Gross

-That ain’t meat jerky

-Thank you San Lang

-That music keeps getting creepier as they travel deeper

-His throne room

-Ugh that ain’t chili

-San Lang’s enraged!

-That Xie Lian statue

-Oh no that statue was beaten in the past!

-They took their anger out on a young man who tried to help

-And here he is!

-He knows him

-That green oni mask

-Thank you Hua Cheng and E Ming!

-Aand there’s a backup chorus

-I think ‘Murderize’ disappointed every English Major watching this Episode

-Thank you Pei Xiu!

-I think he just wanted to be left in peace

-My eyes widened as Qi Rong swore like a really bad sailor

-Gross Qi Rong, that’s disgusting this guy’s officially worse than Koh the face stealer

-Man, I don’t think we’ve heard Feng Xin swear a lot until the previous episode 

-San Lang’s controlling his anger

-I wouldn’t want to be massaged by ancient Chinese orcs

-Xuan Ji got mentioned

-It’s official, Qi Rong supports Women’s wrongs

-RIP Xiao Ying, Pengtou not so much

-Qi Rong roasted the heck outta almost every Heavenly Official shown so far in the series

-I think Hua Cheng’s already better than Qi Rong

-He’s trying to cause drama between the martial gods

-His legs are propped up on Stone!XL’s bowing head

-The Dragon floor relief

-‘Pei Fling’’s an accurate nickname

-That one orc selecting a new human: Eenie, meanie, meinie, That guy

-Oh no Baby Guzi!

-Nyoom! Gotta go fast! - Basically Hua Cheng

-Literally the lackey that focused on XL and HC: I told you we should’ve tied those two guys back with the others! (This quote was inspired by one of Catwoman’s Henchmen in a cold opening of an episode in Batman: The Brave and the Bold and that same henchman said, “I told you we should’ve taken his utility belt!”)

-He caught the statue!

-And the statue’s gently placed on the ground

-Doll!Qianqiu moved!

-They’ve got more cave trolls!

-His eyes glowed

-Gotta go fast again!

-His head’s in an iron grip!

-Dang, literally 0 seconds after Qi Rong asked for help and got faceplanted into the ground by Hua Cheng sent all of his armed lackeys fleeing into the cave.  Dude really has the dumbest henchmen in the series

-Guzi’s Dad’s last action of selflessness was protecting his own son

-XL saved Baby Guzi!

-You gotta love Bad Cop!Hua Cheng

-Parental Xie Lian!

-Dude if I were you I’d keep the kid with me at all times, not that I want to be parent whatsoever

-Move over MCU Loki

-Qi Rong low key has the same pathetic energy as Prince John did in Disney’s Robin Hood

-“And then there’s me.  Smiling, as I end your damn life!” Preach Hua Cheng

-Right in front of his own statue

-There goes the Oni Mask

-Ugh purple lipstick and Xie Lian had better cosmetics in S1 EPs 1-3

8 down! 4 Eps left to go!

[anashins]

hiiii can i request jaehyun x reader fanfic where they watch singles inferno together (korean dating show) :D thank youuu

Pairing: Jaehyun x reader

Genre: fluff, slightly suggestive at the end

Word Count: 1k

Summary: Jaehyun gets way too invested in a dating show he swears to have no interest in until you accidentally drop that you would choose a candidate from it as well.

A/N: Luckily, I watched the first episodes, I hope you like it 💕

“What are you watching?”

Jaehyun peeked into the living room, apparently just having woken up from an after work nap. His hair was sticking out to all sides and he had already changed into loungewear since he didn’t plan on going anywhere anymore today, yawning leisurely with closed eyes while awaiting your answer.

You chuckled silently. He always looked extremely handsome, but you found another level of beauty in the bare faced Jaehyun who was still a little sleepy and still a little groggy. In this state, he was unbelievably cute. 

“Singles Inferno,” you answered to him while your hand disappeared into a bag of chips. With crossed legs, you were sitting on the couch, a blanket draped over your lap. “You wanna watch with me?”

It was your favorite after work activity, just catching up with your favorite series and tv show, and since the new season of this dating format came out after the huge success of the former one, you surely had to watch it too, having been looking forward to it all day long.

Jaehyun frowned and then shook his head. “Nah, that’s nothing for me.”

“Okay.”

You shrugged it off and turned your attention back to the TV where the candidates were currently walking in one after another. Feeling the second hand embarrassment over the screen while they were sitting there, not speaking a word to one another but just staring into the abyss, you wanted to look away so badly.

“Can you pour me some chips into this bowl?” Jaehyun asked. “I’m gonna watch something else in the bedroom.”

“Sure.” You shared your chips with him while he stood next to you, alternating between pouring and watching the last contestant enter the screen.

“Is it always like that that they don’t speak a word to each other?” your boyfriend wanted to know incidentally. “Awkward.”

“They are not allowed to speak about their careers or tell each other how old they are, so the first meeting can be quite… hard to look at when you barely have a base for a conversation.”

“I see.”

“All done,” you then announced when you took the bag of chips back to you. “Have fun watching your show.”

“Thanks.” But Jaehyun didn’t go away immediately. Instead, he was focused on the TV now as well. “Did they build the team to explore the island themselves or were they set up?”

“I believe they were set up.”

“Mm-hmm.”

But instead of returning to the bedroom to watch his show now, you still perceived him from the corner of your peripheral vision. “I think that guy likes that girl and she’s interested in him too. I feel sorry for the other. He seems so lost.”

You felt the cushion sinking next to you, and as you shifted your head a little, you saw Jaehyun slowly seating himself on the couch. “Are you even seeing the TV?” you asked. “You should wear your glasses, they’re here under the table.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get going anyway.”

“Okay.” You already sensed where this was going and bit down a smile. It was always like this with Jaehyun, but since you didn’t want to scare him off, you suppressed another comment.

As you suspected, your boyfriend reached for his glasses shortly after to get a better view of the TV. The bowl with the chips had already found its way onto his lap, and he was taking a handful out of it to eat one after another.

“Why is every girl so interested in this Yoongjae?” Jaehyun then interrupted and shook his head. “They’re all sleeping on Hanbin. Look how he takes over the kitchen! They would be lost without him.”

“Right?” you supported his opinion, playing along since it was nice having his company. “I bet he’ll get many letters, he seems so nice.”

“Letters?” He looked at you with curious eyes.

“Yeah, at the end of the day, everyone can write letters to one person.”

“Ah, I see… Oh!” he then called out. “What is Soe doing?! Take initiative, girl!”

Now, you couldn’t hold back your laughter anymore, and Jaehyun joined. Somehow, while the contestants were still preparing dinner, the legs in his checkered pajama bottoms had found their way under your blanket which you now shared happily with him. He was gently stroking your thigh, totally invested in the show now.

It was that he often feigned indifference, but then got distracted and eventually totally invested in something he had seemed to have no interest in first. You knew him very well by now which was why you never started to persuade him about watching anything. Sometimes, you believed, he silently grew into a bigger fan of something than you.

“No way!” Jaehyun exclaimed at a certain scene. “My boy Hanbin got zero letters?! This show is rigged, I’m telling you!”

“Right?!” you backed him up. “I can’t with the girls already! Except for Nadine. If it were me, I would’ve chosen Hanbin from the start.”

It only dawned on you after that you probably shouldn’t have voiced this out loud when Jaehyun suddenly stopped stroking your thigh. Reluctantly, you turned aside to him, meeting his exhorting gaze with which he looked back at you over his glasses.

Simultaneously, Jaehyun raised a brow, but his gaze told an entire other story. “You would?”

“Only if you weren’t there,” you defended yourself, by now knowing that there was no turning back anymore. “And even if, I would always choose you over Hanbin and any other guy on this show!”

With a swift motion, Jaehyun took off his glasses, and even though he looked absolutely cute with them, the version of him when he had just taken them off was an absolute menace. You spoke from experience.

Shortly later, the glasses were laying on the surface of the table again and Jaehyun on top of you, your legs entangled in the blanket.

“Say it again,” he whispered into your ear, the tips of his fingers brushing over the side of your neck, awaiting your response.

And feeling your cheeky side today, you joked, “If it were me, I would’ve chosen Hanbin.”

“I’m gonna make you regret this.”

[t0ast-ghost]

S2 episode 25 (Bread And Circuses) oh goodness oh my. I’m not ready. I’m so ready.

Okay get ready:

- They’re all standing on the enterprise bridge completely still. As if in tableau.

- Of course they’re beaming down to a dangerous planet with only the top three officers. Why even use reason at this point.

- Kirk outside the ship in his green shirt <3 (I keep thinking of it as his pjs)

- McCoy is very hostile towards Spock today. Hope they don’t get put in a situation with sharp objects…

- “Once, just once, I’d like to land someplace and say, ‘behold, I am the archangel Gabriel.’” “I fail to see the humour in that situation, Doctor.” “Naturally. You could hardly claim to be an angel with those point ears, Mr. Spock. But say you landed someplace with a pitchfork.” This is proving my theory that they’re the angel and devil on Kirk’s shoulders

- “We come from another… province.” Canadian moment

- “What do you call those?” “I call them ears.” There is no end to Spock’s audacity

- “Captain, I thought you might find this interesting.” Spock hands Kirk a newspaper with a shirtless man on the cover

- “Will you help us?” No one can outright deny this twunk

- Spock in a hat

- McCoy in a regular short sleeve shirt and bell bottom pants is <3

- no words for this one

- it’s like this episodes message is mirroring our own world or something… nah

- McCoy is already picking fights. Spock is indulging him. They’re not enemies to lovers. They’re enemies AND lovers.

- McCoy not afraid to slap a bitch

- So Merrick killed all of his crew… right?

- McCoy and Spock just flirting (debating) in public

- AND they threatened McCoy and Spock

- As Jim takes the communicator to assumedly order the crew down he has a shit eating grin… so it’s safe to assume he’s not gonna do that

- “Must you always be so blasted honest?!”

- He’s just talking on his cellphone

- Scotty is talking to his diary, Uhura is listening

- Jim is so scared for what’s about to happen

- McCoy and Spock about to face off against two shirtless men

- “I don’t mind fighting but… why you?” That gladiator took one look at them and went, ‘why are they making us fight these two nerds?’

- Camera goes to McCoy -> sound guy ups the catcalls

- I love Spock fighting really hard in the background and McCoy just.. he don’t want to

- “Do you need any help, Doctor?” “What ever gave you that idea?” “[random gladiator]Fight, you pointed eared freak!” “You tell him, buster! Of all the completely… ridiculous, illogical questions I ever heard in my life!” Then Bones falls on his ass and Spock comes to his rescue, happily ever after

- Those pants make Kirk’s ass look flat… unfair

- Spock trying to break the bars while McCoy sits in the most strange way possible

- Spock has tried to get them out the same way fifteen times. He wants his boyfriends safe.

- Me: awww McCoy and Spock having a genuine moment… nope they can’t last ten seconds (maybe they are divorced)

- McCoy pins Spock against the wall of the cell to make his point

- Spock’s pouty expression…

- “Why you wouldn’t know what to do with a genuine warm decent feeling.” “Really doctor?” They’re giving each other ‘fuck me’ eyes

- Their fight ended with “I’m worried about Jim too” like McCoy knows Spock feels emotions but represses them and is ‘trying’ to understand him

- Kirk, I implore you not to kiss this woman- that went out the window so fast

- Never mind what I said about the pants making his ass flat. I was severely wrong. Forgive me.

- KIRK STRAIGHT UP KILLED THOSE GUYS

- Ohhh Merrick stole the communicator

- Kirk giving commendation to Scotty for not breaking the prime directive is priceless. ‘Good self control, Mr Scott.’

- I love how Spock and McCoy are both saying things about Flavius (agreeing with each other)and as soon as Spock speaks about studying the sun religion, McCoy looks like he’s going to explode

I both like and hate the relationship they have with Spock and McCoy in this one cause it’s so magnetic but I don’t know if it’ll ever be evolved past this and that makes me sad.

Masterpost

Episode written by Gene Roddenberry and Gene L. Coon

[theflagscene]

Wait! How!? When!? Where!? How is White suddenly there!? How did Tee meet White!? You can’t just play upbeat music and have the boys running around to show the passage of time and not explain how the fucking villain of the story got the most adorably innocent lil princess boyfriend on the planet!

Phee, bringing Jin on a date to the same place you and Non liked to go is just weird. I hate people who use the same ‘date’ spots for their new partners that they used with their past partners and no, this isn’t me projecting, why do you ask!? Lmao 😂 shut up it’s still tacky af

‘Friend’ the dreaded word.

What is with the ass slapping and window sex!? I mean, I get that they’re supposed to 18 year old boys, who are by definition perverted, but that was some porn level shit. Also, again, no prep. Phee wasn’t even the one blown so it’s not like they were even using spit for lube, or an already lubed condom. What is this, another ABO show? Just having the dudes slick and sliding all over one another apparently.

Ta’s got a decent ass at least, good for him.

“Did you cheat on my brother?” Nah, pretty sure they broke up when Phee saw him being raw dogged by the teacher and then told him to go die, but whatever helps you sleep at night Tan.

“Don’t fall in love with him.” Yeah, I think it’s too late for that.

Oh, mom is not looking so great. Hmm, something tells me that video isn’t real. Mom knows what’s up, it’s finally hit her, her baby’s dead. The actress did a fantastic job of a mother realizing the truth of the death of her child, it’s a startling realization that does take your legs out from under you. Your mind blanks, you can’t think about anything but the last time you saw them, the last terrible thing you said, all you can do is try not to scream. - That got a little too dark and real, sorry.

news.boc.com Cute BoC, very cute.

How long were Phee and Jin supposed to have been fucking by now? Weeks? Months? Because Jin has gotten very emotionally invested very quickly, which is appropriate for teenagers I suppose.

Two years, so they’d be in their what, second year of uni? Tan has gone full mad scientist I see.

Wait, he called to tell Tan that his mom was dead and it was her funeral that day and he just showed tf up! When his dad thought he was still in England!? Lmao, that’s fricking hilarious. I know, I know, wrong reaction to this scene but I’m weird, what can I say.

Oops, bye bye daddy. No wonder Tan is so fucking nuts! That would drive anyone insane. He literally needs Non to be alive otherwise he’s lost everything for nothing.

Is Tan his own guinea pig for his drugs!? Jesus dude, get some help.

Question, were Phee and Jin fucking during their time at university too? Or are you telling me all this ‘I love him’ crap was from one night of decent dick and a few ‘best friend dates’? Like the math ain’t mathing, establish a better timeline here for me when it comes to their relationship because in the first episode it made it seem like they were screwing around for a really long time, months at the very least. But now it seems like they fucked around a couple times in one 12 hour period, Jin decided that was enough to wanna date, caught Phee in a mood because of the fake news report and then they just… what? Kept fucking? Stopped? Jin carried a torch for him for over two years after one night together? Acted like a scorned lover for years because of a single teenaged tryst? Not to be that guy, but girl, you’re coming off a little desperate. I need a more accurate timeline!!!

“This won’t kill them.” Tan, could you try and be a tad more convincing when saying that?

That was a fantastic look from Tan to end on, ngl. Although someone needs to save baby White!

Next episode, we’re back in the present for the most part it seems. Jin somehow still trusts Phee, Fluke somehow gets the gun back and oh look, he holds White hostage, poor bb did nothing, leave him alone! And Tee clearly does know what happened to both Non and Keng as he runs up onto the roof where his uncle is to see the pair… unconscious? Dead? One of each?

I want some backstory about how White fits into all of this next time as well, that would be great. Although considering how little the timeline of events during grade 12 are fully explained, I doubt knowing more about White would make very much sense at this point.

[bengiyo]

Ossan's Love Returns Ep 7 Stray Thoughts

Last time, Haruta and Maki finally got married! Haruta struggled with nerves before the wedding, and Maki struggled with balancing work and wedding planning (complicated by Kurosawa’s involvement as always). Kurosawa, Takegawa, Izumi, and Kiku all struggled with the events of this wedding, and brought a somber energy to the event that was so heavy. Despite having their beautiful day, we left on the Chief coughing up blood in the bathroom.

I like picking up with the wedding photos and giggling about them.

Why did that noise come out of Izumi??

Takegawa pushing his poly agenda. Sir, the fans are with you if the fic is any indication.

For a second I thought this man was really writing drug prescriptions and I was so alarmed.

Chizu, noo!! The squad is in crisis! I’ve been here before, though. Did not know I was registered at a friend’s nursery and got the call to pick up one of the kids.

I’m very emotional about the pickling jar.

Wow, their house isn’t childproof at all. Rest in the pepperonis, babes.

Episode 7: How Will You Live?

Damn, Chief, how stressed are you that you’re vomiting blood? Did they give him any kind of treatment plan??

Oh, Chizu. I love having Kurosawa in the story because everyone feels like they can trust him with their insecurities. Still, we can’t let the Chief hurt himself also trying to care for Goro.

Takegawa is always so much. I loved Maki’s face journey before letting this man in. I’m excited to see where this Goro plotline goes if Maki doesn’t like having kids around.

Oh, Kurosawa, I really hope you work through this. I am rooting for you.

Yes, Choko! Intervene! Kurosawa is not well!

Goddammit, they’re gonna bridge the Kurosawa health plot with the cop plot.

I love that they didn’t cast other actors to play young Choko or Musasshi.

There might be something wrong with one of his lungs!!!

Good job, Kiku. It’s about time we got this out in the open.

Nah, I’m crying with Haruta, too. When Maika said they’re a family of six, that got me, especially after Goro cleaned his mom’s shoes. That kid knows how hard his mom works.

One month left? Until what???

What is all this goodbye talk in the next episode???

I really appreciate the moment where Maki was carrying a sleepy Goro back to their house and you saw the shift occur in him about how he views kids. I don’t need them to have kids or adopt, but I like that Maki worked through his issue about kids on his own and managed to form a team with Haruta to help their friend. Goro seems like a kid who appreciates the amount of people who love him. I don’t know what’s left for Izumi and Kiku, but I’m glad Kiku made his feelings known, but I don’t think this revenge plot is over just because the guy was arrested. I’m also so nervous about Kurosawa, because that man is not well and only Choko knows.

[idkwhatever580]

Idk if y’all liked my commentary on the last episode of Agatha All Along but I’ve decided I don’t care what you guys think I’m gonna do it anyways. And I’m gonna give timestamps this time 😭

I just realized I never posted this 😭 I’m gonna post it now while I’m working on episode six bro 😭🔫

⚠️WARNING⚠️ AGATHA ALL ALONG EPISODE 5 SPOILERS AHEAD… WATCH AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.

You have been warned 😭

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2:09:

OH MY GOD WTF ARE THOSE THINGS

Like logically I know they are the Salem seven. And that probably means they’re the lady witches that Agatha killed all the way back in wandavision lol 😂 but why are they whispering and lurking like fucking BUGS THEY LOOK LIKE BUGS

3:02:

Holy shit not Rio defending Agatha. That’s low-key hot. Not the protectiveness 😭

So what? Maybe she is the angel of death or whatever you want to call her. (Angel in my eyes) I’d probably let her kill me and then I’d thank her for it too 😭😜

5:12

WOOOAAAAAHHHHH

That was so fucking funny bro 😭 why is rio so fucking real. Like idc that I’m being chased I’m literally about to ride a broom

IM PAMELA PUMPKIN

Now ride the witches broom. Ride the witches broom 😭

6:36

Bro her witch laugh ✋😭

That shit has me shook

6:56

OH HELL NAW FUCKING BUGS?!

ID KILL MYSELF SO HARD

8:47

No way.

“We have to wee gee”

✋😭🔫

I’ve never ever pronounced ouija like that brooooo

10:02

She so real for that

10:48

Stop I can’t take this seriously 😭🙏

11:30

STOP THEYRE SO REAL

11:46

Not her getting fucked up my mrs hart 😭

12:39

Stop that was so cringey. I knew she was faking the second I saw Rios face

Guys… I can’t spell this good. Y’all are moving to fast for me bro 😭

I legit thought it was spelling out Marsha when it

14:24

Bro this whole thing is crazy bro

14:42

No shot. Leave her alone with your little retainer ass bitch.

15:02

Shut your whore mouth Jen.

I hate all of you.

She is literally just a girl

15:21

Not Agatha being a fucking pick me 😭

16:18

WHAT THE FUCK

16:29

“Sweetheart are you okay?”

Stop y’all. I know she meant it in a not so endearing way, but DAMN

17:25

Nah shit.

I apparently hate ghosts too.

17:34

✋😭

No fucking way bro

18:04

Stop embarrassing me in front of my friends mom 😭🔫

18:32

“No! NO WAY!”

That’s so fucking sweet

“Yeah well her mother can’t have her”

She probably knows how scared she is right now. Honestly I think Agatha wouldn’t be afraid to die in Rio’s hands because she would take care of her and make sure her soul was safe or something like that idk (maybe it’s my fluff brain speaking)

But she knows her mom would hurt her and she doesn’t want her last minutes to be with the person who tried to take her life bro 😭🔫🔫🔫🔫

19:08

Oh damn. Rio’s reaction. She knows how bad her mom is.

19:25

OH FUCK YOU JEN KILL YOURSELF YOURE A BITCH I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE GOOD BUT YOURE A HOE

20:06

NO AGATHA YOU CAN BE GOOD PLEASE STOP

20:39

OH HELL NO THATS SO TRAUMATIZING

Like I know she just tried to kill Alice and almost did. But like no fucking way

21:20

NooooooooOoOooOoOooOoooooooOOOOOO

22:11

They did my bitch dirty.

23:53

No fucking way… I’m in the library at my college bro. I’m actually about to shit myself bro 😭🔫

Like I’m going to shit my pants.

Stop. I’m so done.

I’m done. I’m done. I’m done. Im done.

I think I’m actually gonna throw up. I can’t do this. I need to cry but wtf.

In conclusion:

I seriously am feeling so many things I’m supposed to do schoolwork but I can’t even focus now 😭🔫

Now I feel like I need to sit and stare at a blank wall for an hour. That’s not allowed to happen but I actually have a headache from feeling to hard. Maybe also a heartache.

I’m out here defending Agatha like “oh you can be good it’s okay babe” right and then she goes and does this shit.

Also Billy… Billy my boy. Bill bob. I seriously need you to get to the end of the road and bring your mother back. Because I swear to god if you bring vision back I will hate you. And I will never be able to look at you the same.

Also… what did you do with Tommy huh? You jsut left him out in the cold somewhere? Lost in a fucking hex??? Get out bro.

I swear. This is gonna break my heart. Kmskmskmskmskmskmskmskmskmskmskmskmskms

[ninjatrashpanda]

Season 8 Episode 3 Write-Up

Okay, so. This was the grand conclusion of our opening disaster, and I personally think that while it was good overall, the whole ordeal could have been two episodes. But more on that later. If you want to read my thoughts on Episodes one and two, you can find my masterlist here.

Also, I’m gonna try to streamline these a little and go ‘Storyline by Storyline’ rather than ‘Scene by Scene’ like I did the last two weeks.

1. The Cold Open

The episode decides to immediately show us Athena’s leadership skills and determination, two of her best qualities. It’s one of those moments that show you why she had the opportunity to become lieutenant (I think it was Season 2 or 3, but don’t quote me on that), and why she would have absolutely thrived in the position. Of course, Athena is infamously frequently abusing her power, so I guess it’s ultimately a good thing she didn’t take the job.

Also, I still think the heart attack on the copilot was pointless. It didn’t provide anything except padding the disaster’s runtime to fit three episodes.

2. Bathena

“I need to speak with Athena. I need to hear her voice, and I need her to hear mine, just in case.”

“Bobby, she already knows.”

“That’s not good enough.”

We’ve had many Bathena moments in the past. They range from playful and sexy, to angry and sometimes frustrating, to loving and tender. However, I’m not sure when we last had a moment that encapsulates what makes them special the way everything in this episode, but this short conversation between Bobby and Maddie especially, does.

Bobby and Athena have both loved and lost before. This is Bobby’s second marriage, and Athena’s third. (Yes, she and Emmett didn’t get to get married, but I’m counting him anyway.) From the beginning of their relationship, Bobby and Athena have shown us that love is not a finite thing, but something ever expanding, something that can never run out. I don’t think they are each other’s ‘Love Of Their Life.’ Marcy and Emmett are. But I’d argue that makes Bathena almost better because they show us that even after losing their The One, they’re still capable of loving more and more and more. Love never ends or runs out, and we never lose the capability to love, no matter what, and Bobby and Athena have shown that since they started dating.

Coming back to this episode, and the quotes in question, they’re simple. Bobby knows Athena loves him. He knows that she knows that he loves her. But she’s in a crashing plane, and there’s a big chance this might be it, and simply knowing just isn’t enough. Bobby’s last conversation with Marcy before the fire was them fighting over his drug addiction, the last words he ever said to her was him lying to her about the kids being okay. Bobby was never really able to properly apologize and say goodbye to Marcy, and it’s clear that he won’t let something like this happen again.

So, he needs to speak with Athena. He needs to tell her that he loves her, he needs to hear her say that she loves him too. Just in case. It doesn’t matter that they know. Bobby practically begging Maddie to try to move hell and high water to get Athena on a phone line to him is already one of the greatest depictions of their love, but the episode then says ‘Nah, guys, we’re gonna go deeper!

Maddie manages to get through to one of the passengers, and Bobby gets to have that talk with Athena. And between him calling her ‘baby’ (my heart 😭) and promising to meet her at the baggage carousel, I’m already in tears. Then she tells him that they aren’t going to LAX anymore because the plane can’t turn, and how a lot of people both on the plane and on the ground are in danger. There is of course a touch of Athena’s selflessness in there, that she thinks of everyone that might die except herself, but at the same time, at least to me it seemed that there was an unsaid ‘Bobby, this might be it’ in there too.

And Bobby responds to it by asking what she needs. And he proceeds to clear the freeway off cars so she can land that plane. She doesn’t have to ask. She doesn’t have to suggest anything. He just knows she needs him, he just knows exactly what he can do, and he goes and does it. Bobby isn’t in a real fire truck right now, he isn’t even an acting captain, but he still does whatever he can to ensure that his wife, the woman he loves, can protect all those people and then return to him safely.

“I’ll be right here waiting for you.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t be there.”

“You’re gonna do great. I’ll hold up a card with your name on it.”

It should be illegal how much these two are making me cry this episode. Just…he trusts her. So much. Sometimes even more than she trusts herself. And it’s that trust he has in her that gets her to believe that she can do this. That she can land that plane. 

I just love them. They’re such an integral part of this show, so important not just to draw in viewers because it’s Angela Bassett and Peter Krause, but because the show’s core of love and trust and understanding is always best shown by Bobby and Athena. They’re the heart and soul of this show, the blood that runs through its veins. Sometimes I think we take them for granted, that we don’t fully appreciate what they’re doing, both for the show itself and for us, the viewers. We joke when we call them our Mom and Dad, but in the end, that’s a great analogy, actually. Those of us with good parents tend to not appreciate them the way they deserve either until later in life. In that sense, yeah, Bathena really are Mom and Dad!

No matter what else happens, Bobby and Athena, to me at the very least, will always be one of the greatest relationships on television. They’re a tale of redemption, of loss, of finding love again. And I love them more than I could ever say with words.

3. Athena and Jem manning and landing the plane

We jump right into Athena attempting to fly the damn thing to LAX, everything looks good, the ground crew are coaching her properly. Everyone is celebrating (again, wtf, has nobody told them to not celebrate until it’s all over?!) which is of course when the plane falls apart further and damages the rudder with debris. The plane can’t turn anymore, and LAX becomes unreachable.

So, maybe unpopular opinion, but this scene is generally more padding for runtime. It does show off Athena’s resourcefulness and intelligence when she suggests finding a field or doing a water landing, but ultimately, there isn’t much of anything that gets provided otherwise. Some action maybe, sure, but like…how did the story benefit from this? Yeah. This ties back to me thinking the whole disaster could’ve been two episodes, but again, more on that later.

Fast forward through me bawling my eyes out about Bathena, Jem then reveals that he always crashes the plane when it’s time to land in his game. Kid, you should’ve told us this way sooner! I mean, I get it, you’re a kid, and you probably like feeling important and didn’t want to let Athena and everyone down. But maybe a bit of a heads up next time you have to land a crashing plane? kthx

All jokes aside, I love that the show takes the completely bonkers scenario of a child landing a fucking plane, but still makes the kid act like a kid. Of course he didn’t tell anyone that he always crashes the plane in his game. That’s embarrassing! It probably didn’t even occur to him at first that this part was gonna come, and once he did realize, he was already in too deep. You’re still wonderful, Jem, and I will forever love you 💖

Athena reassuring Jem, telling him that they can do it together if they believe in themselves was a nice moment, especially when she says she’s sure his mother is looking over him. I’ve said it already last time, but her empathy and ability to calm and console people is easily one of Athena’s biggest virtues as a character, and I wish the show would tap into it more often!

Also, shoutout to Jem for reminding people about their seatbelts! Those are important! Thank you, Jem, for your vital service!

Now the landing scene? Is phenomenal! I love how tense it is despite all of us knowing it would work out. The chaos in the cabin, the wheels bursting, how the thing comes to a halt directly in front of Bobby, who doesn’t move an inch because of his immense trust in Athena. I love that Jem freezes and has to be snapped out of it, too. Like I said earlier, the show actually portrays him as a child, and that’s wonderful. That Athena gets it and doesn’t hold it against him, without getting angry or overly frustrated, is another testament to who she is, too. These past two episodes have been really great showings for her, and I hope we get to go forward more with this Athena than the Athena breaking every protocol in the book because she thinks she knows best.

And God, Jem hugging Athena in the end!!! I just…I can’t. It’s so good. I love this. I don’t know what else to even say anymore.

4. Clearing the Freeway and Triage

Like I mentioned before, Bobby has no authority whatsoever. Hell, I’m pretty sure that what he does here actually breaks some laws. He still does it because it has to be done. And just like in Season 2 when he confronted Freddie, he’ll probably be excused (as he should!) because, well, he’s kind of a hero. Who knows how many people would’ve died if he hadn’t stopped the 110 dead in its tracks?

Right off the bat, Buck in the background trying to find actual equipment on the TV show truck is a funny background event, and him casually stealing that guy’s bike was amazing! I hope he gets it back though. Do we count him jumping into oncoming freeway traffic as another near-death experience?

I can’t explain just how big that smile was that I had when all the characters from last week’s episode came sliding out of the plane. The background music was sublime, and the touch of comedy with Brad passing out over Donna’s gross leg was hilarious. In fact, all the small quips of comedy we’ve had were pretty well done. From Buck’s ‘I never knew he was British!’ (3Meta5Me) to ‘Bloody hell, Bobby!’ to Athena’s ‘That sounded better in my head.’ All providing a nice sense of levity in an otherwise tense episode.

And of course, then something explodes. Because we’re only halfway through the episode, and we still gotta pad the runtime a little more. Again, I’ll talk about the padding later in a separate point.

I remember seeing all the live bloggers complain about Athena staying on the plane to do CPR, and that the guy was dead anyway, etc. And I get that a lot of those were jokes, obviously, but like…if you were serious, then you don’t understand Athena’s character at all. There was no way that she was gonna leave that man behind. If there’s even the slightest sliver of a chance that he’ll make it, she’ll make sure to at least try to save him. That’s just who she is. In fact, that’s who all of them are. Bobby is like that too, and so is Buck, and so’s Eddie, and Chim and Hen and even Maddie and Josh and Tommy. It’s why they’re all first responders. It’s part of their identity. They would never leave someone behind to save their own hides. Plus, Chim literally says that the copilot lived because Athena didn’t stop.

The cavalry arrives and Bobby instantly takes over as IC, because of course he does. Really, who else would do it? I love that Eddie doesn’t even question it, and that Hen is openly just rolling with it. Why wouldn’t they?

To round this one out:

“Where’s Gerrard?”

“Buck put him in the hospital. I could elaborate, but this is funnier :D”

Chim, I love you. The people who hate you just don’t get that you’re amazingly amazing the way you are <3

5. The conclusion to Dennis’ storyline

Okay, so. I did kind of suspect that the feds were in on Fulton’s thing in one way or another. So that wasn’t much of a surprise. I didn’t expect the agent himself to be in the book though. And also, uh, the whole dramatically walking out of the shadows was a little extra, but know what, we appreciate a little diva moment on this blog.

Dennis taking a bullet for Bobby was sweet. And him than shanking Agent Whozitagain in the balls even better. Truly Jeffrey Hudson 2.0, you gotta love it.

But of course, the true meat here is the hospital scene between Dennis and Athena. And I loved that one. I love that Dennis admits that he did run from the consequences of his actions, but that he’s done running from them now. Because he’s still willing to go back to prison if Athena wants him to. Hell, he fully expects that she does and acts accordingly. I’ve said it before, but Dennis is such a genuinely good man.

His family showing up was such a nice surprise, and then of course, we get to Athena. Athena does not forgive Dennis for killing Emmett. And she shouldn’t. In any capacity. No matter the circumstances, or what he did with his life afterward, he did kill Emmett. So she doesn’t forgive him. But she does give him her blessing to use the deal to get back to his family, his job, his life. Not because he deserves it, but because she realized that arresting him didn’t bring her closure.

She was still angry, at him, at the world, at everything. She kept holding onto that anger, maybe because she was afraid of forgetting about Emmett if she did, but she realized that holding on to it only hurts her in the long run. So, knowing that Dennis is a legitimately good person, that he repented by being a social worker and helping children in need for the thirty years since Emmet, she decides to let go of her anger, hoping it will help her heal some of the pain. I think it’s clear she still hate Dennis, as is her prerogative, but she acknowledges that making him suffer won’t bring Emmett back, never mind that he would have wanted Dennis to get that second chance.

So she tells Dennis to live for Emmett the way she is. She tells him to honor Emmett like she does. She tells him to help people like Emmett would have, the way she is helping people. And honestly, she looks a lot lighter when she leaves the hospital room and rejoins Bobby.

In my first write-up, I talked about closure, and how Athena and Mrs. Washington deserved to have it, no matter what Dennis did himself to repent. From what we know, Mrs. Washington got that closure by Dennis getting arrested and tried. Athena, evidently from these past episodes, didn’t. She thought she would, but she didn’t get closure until she properly met and got to know Dennis more personally. She got closure by letting go, by knowing that he, too, honors the man he killed.

And I think that’s kind of what I wanted to get at back then. Closure isn’t a one-size-fits-all thing. Some people get closure from talking to the person who wronged them, by knowing their motive, by them maybe repenting and regretting what they did. Others get closure from a level of retribution. Others again get closure simply by healing and living their best lives, or, in case of losing someone, by letting their lost loved one live vicariously through them, by living in a way that would make them proud.

I will always defend a victim’s right for justice and closure. If a victim wants to see the person who wronged them punished to get closure, then that’s what should happen. Period. Culprits never matter as much or more than the people they wronged. And that’s a stance I refuse to change. Please stop telling victims their feelings are wrong or that they aren’t allowed to have closure. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

6. The most awkward closer in history

Yeah, uh, part of my Buck-and-Gerrard theory from last week is already coming true.

I just love Brian’s acting here. He’s so over the top, it’s amazing. Calling an exclamation point in a formal report vulgar the way he did absolutely sent me, him going paranoid (?) and accusing Eddie of not approving of the way he wrapped his head wound was freaking perfect. Great acting, both by Brian and Ryan.

And then of course he hugs Buck in the most awkward fashion imaginable. “Do you feel these arms, son? This is me taking you under my wing!” The sheer WTF look on everyone’s faces was such a good visual to end the premier with.

This is one of those scenes where I want to see the outtakes. Because you just know that they laughed their asses off way too many times to count.

As is, I’m really looking forward to how this storyline goes and how Gerrard’s ‘mentorship’ affects Buck and Tommy’s relationship.

7. Final Thoughts

Okay, so, right off the bat, let’s talk about how this three-part-premier really could’ve been two episodes. To begin, let’s shave off the scene of Buck saving Gerrard from the saw blade and have him save Gerrard later during the plane rescue instead. Same effect as what we got, but it leaves some breathing room in episode 1 to insert the scene of Athena and Dennis getting on the plane. That way, we don’t have to do it again in episode 2.

Having Buck save Gerrard later also gets rid of the follow up scene in episode 2, shaving off some time for other scenes from episode three to be in here. Additionally, the copilot didn’t matter in any way imaginable, so I almost feel like he should be DOA. Both Donna and Jordan’s rescues were more compelling, so I’d like to keep them. 

Additionally, I’d have the rudder damaged right off the bat, too. The escalation of the plane’s gradual destruction added some tension, yes, but for the most part it did just feel like pointless padding to me. With the rudder damaged and the plane unable to turn from the get-go, ATC has to think differently, but the result is the same. Bobby, Buck and Brad clear the freeway to allow the plane to emergency land there.

Now, I’d still have Athena stay on the plane for a hurt passenger, but I feel like that should’ve been Dennis. Maybe when the plane landed, he hit his head or something and is out cold or something. The 118, including Gerrard now, enters the plane and gets him out when the explosion happens. This is where I would have Buck save Gerrard. Just like with the saw, he senses somethings off and the moment the explosion happens, he pushes Gerrard out of the way.

The emergency ends with Dennis and Gerrard being loaded into ambulances, Bathena embrace and kiss, and everyone is happy. The Gerrard scene at the end happens as is.

“But Julian,” you may say, “what about Dennis’ storyline?” And to that I say…let it continue. I feel like it should have kept going, honestly. That should’ve been Athena’s big storyline this season, maybe concluding in the mid-season finale. The conclusion we got felt super rushed to me personally, and I definitely think seeing Athena snoop around to find whoever has it out for Dennis, maybe seeing Dennis actually work with the feds, etc. would’ve been more compelling.

But that’s just me.

Overall, I think this premier was still great, despite my few little gripes. In general, the Tsunami still reigns supreme, and I think the earthquake is also still ahead of this one, but it’s better than the cruise ship or the blackout. My biggest wish honestly would’ve been more involvement from the rest of the main cast. In the old opening disasters, everyone had a storyline, something to do. Hen, Chim and Eddie barely having three lines would’ve been unthinkable. I’d like those opening disasters to come back

And, of course, the lack of Tommy. Am I a little disappointed? Yes. Am I a bit confused that the pilot wasn’t involved in the plane crash emergency, even though Tommy was explicitly brought back as Buck’s LI because he would be easier to involve in the plot? Yes. And I think that’s fair criticism. Like, I’m not gonna send Tim death threats over it, but not involving Tommy in this particular set of episodes was a baffling decision, imo.

And that’s it. If you read to the end, thank you for reading! If you want to discuss things with me, write a comment, reblog, shoot me an ask, whatever you want! Or don’t, that’s fine too. I’m gonna be back with more random thoughts next week.

Bye bye!

[kiaxet]

Gimme BTS for both Siblingquest and Lethal Measures, scene of your choice!

Lethal Measures first, because that one's been around for a bit and we have fun here:

If the government wants to get to Donnie or his brothers, all it would take would be one particularly morally bankrupt decision maker to make the call to go after April- And they’d never know, until she failed to check in. Or they’d force her to open her phone and keep checking in in her stead - it’s not like those messages are particularly long or detailed - and they’d never know at all- He pushes away from the screen, letting the chair roll as his mind scrambles. They’d never know- April’s in danger- they’re all in danger- he should’ve known- he’s the tech guy, the genius of the family, the only one with any cybersecurity savvy- he should’ve known- this is his fault- they’re all in danger and it’s his fault- they- he- he- He pulls his legs up against his chest and wraps his arms around them, burying his head in his knees and gasping for breath as his heart pounds in his ears and his brain spins out of control, caught in a cycle of guilt and the looming unknown, and he- He loses time. Slowly, his breathing evens out. His heart quiets down. The world gradually slides back into focus. This is his fault, and he will fix it. Later. After the Krang issue is taken care of. Under observation for the time being means that they aren’t planning on making a move, and he can set up another monitor program to notify him if that ever changes, as well as any other changes they make to the dossiers. Forewarned is forearmed, and he’ll be armed enough to make sure they regret ever thinking about coming after his family- But they aren’t yet. Priorities. He’s okay - he’s fine - he just needs to focus.

It's inaccurate to say I've never seen an episode of TMNT 03 in my life - I'm sure I have; it was just 20 years ago, and all I remember is the opening theme. I sure as hell did not remember Bishop, so he wasn't a factor when this particular scene (read: Donnie realizing a government black site specializing in xenobiology knows about him and his family) - the Government Agency in question was a blank slate for me, and I figured I was already in AU territory and could just keep digging. I wound up with Site 39, who are far more observation-focused and prefer to prevent trouble than cause it, meaning Donnie's fears about the government coming after his family are currently unfounded.

It's not like Donnie knows that.

This poor kid has helped avert an apocalypse, nearly lost his family in the process, made the entirety of his family's recovery his responsibility, is absolutely traumatized and absolutely refusing to acknowledge that (let alone take steps to assuage it), and has decided that a Krang hunt is a good use of his time, because he wants to get rid of the last Real Threat to his family. Finding what he believes is a second Real Threat is a goddamn hammer blow to his psyche. So he immediately puts it on his To Fix list, along with literally everything else, because sometimes Donnie doesn't learn unless someone else hammers it into his head.

I do have fun writing panic attacks - there's something about the mechanics of breaking up sentences and the very- abrupt- nature- of the hyphen as punctuation that really works to paint the picture of a thought process spiraling out of control.

I have had exactly one person who didn't know about it beforehand pick up on the repetition of I'm fine and he's fine and what it means to the story, and I fucking love them.

Siblingquest time! I'm pulling from the little that's published, so as to avoid doing a DVD commentary on something that would currently count as spoilers.

“Anything on the scanner, Donnie?” Leo asks for what feels like the millionth time. “Negative. Even New York’s Finest are having a boring evening.” Donnie sighs and slumps as much as the lightweight battle shell will let him. “You know, Spider-Man never has these problems.” “Nah, Spider-Man has other problems,” Mikey says evenly, finishing a wrist stretch and sliding his brace back on. “Like, all the time. It’s definitely a good thing we aren’t Spider-Man.” “Yeah, and I don’t think Spider-Man could handle being us.” Leo smirks and offers Mikey a fistbump, which Mikey reciprocates and explodes, fingers waggling gleefully. “You know,” Raph says, leaning in, then pauses. “Well, one, Spider-Man ain’t got nothing on the Mad Dogs. An’ two, if nothing’s happening, we could just go home for the night. Raph can’t vouch for Donnie, but Raph hasn’t used his screen time today, and we could go play Smash-” Which is when the sound of glass shattering echoes through the street as a window smashes outwards, a barely-disguised ram yokai barreling through it, something small clutched to its chest. It stops, shaking glass out of its horns and fur, and then hoofs it up the street. There’s a beat of silence, and then- “That was not the kind of Smash Raph meant.”

Most of the writing that exists for Siblingquest right now was written in a NaNoWriMo word sprint haze and cleaned up in post, as it were. This means that a lot of the non-load-bearing prose - conversations, jokes, small interstitial scenes that aren't super plot heavy - was written as quickly as possible and pulls directly from whatever happened to be on my mind at the time.

My roommate and I also spent much of November playing Spider-Man 2 on a borrowed PS5, so it was on my mind at the time. Modern Spider-Man problems, generally speaking, tend to end with messy upheaval and at least one person Emotionally Important to the Spider-Man in question dying a painful but meaningful death. The Hamatos do not want Spider-Man problems, and Spider-Man could not handle the Krang.

("But they handled the Symbiote-" The Symbiote in Spider-Man 2 and the Krang as presented in Rise aren't anywhere near the same weight class. The Krang would body Venom. Being voiced by Tony Todd would not save him.)

(...someone give me a fucked up Krang/Symbiote amalgamate now, please.)

Also, comedy is hard and I am very proud of that last joke.

...also fuck it, have a preview of coming attractions in Siblingquest:

“Oh, nah, I’m thinking Run of the Mill.” Leonardo looks up at Cissy. She probably ought to hop down and join them - she hadn’t been thinking. “You ever been?” Context says it’s a place, likely one that serves pizza, but aside from that, nothing. Cissy shakes her head. “Then we definitely need to go. C’mon, guys, Cissy’s first Run of the Mill visit!” “Don’t gotta twist my arm,” Raphael says easily. “Donnie?” “Far be it from me to turn down the offer of pizza.” A beat. “Though if Nardo puts his Hawaiian on my plate again, I’m taking his arm off.” “Donnie, he needs that-” The arm conversation continues, and Leonardo gestures at Cissy to join them as he and Michelangelo start heading out the door. Cissy finally steps off the rafters and lands on the ground, swiftly catching up to Donatello and leaning in. “It’ll come off easier at the shoulder,” she says, voice low to avoid catching Raphael’s ear, “but you’ll need to pop it out of the socket first.” She puts on speed to catch up to Michelangelo, and only hears Donatello’s incredulous, “How do you know that?” behind her after she heads out the door.

[retrieve-the-kraken]

Young Royals Season 2 play-by-play analysis

The last episode, the climax to the conflict, the conclusion to this arc, the start of the revolution… it’s so dramatic, so tense and so satisfying.

(Ugh, why does it take me so long to find the gifs I want... Why can't I always find the absolute perfect gifs when I want them and I know they exist...)

Brace yourselves, because this analysis is LOOOONG. I can’t stop the thoughts, sorry. Too many moments, too many unspoken things that speak volumes…

EPISODE 6

The boys have been together for hours now, in their little bubble. As far as we know, there have been no food or bathroom breaks…? Just the two of them, making the most of every second together, just loving each other one last time… Then morning comes and the bubble bursts. Simon has to do the right thing, he knows that there’s a big chance that nothing will come off it, but he has to try. Even if it means that August won’t be next in line to the throne, which at least would be a giant blow for August, but an equally big one for Wille… but Simon has to try, he can’t just not do anything, he has to get some form of justice… and whatever happens after that they will deal with it together, hopefully.

So after hours of loving and being loved, Wille looks resigned again, watching as Simon gets dressed. He asks if he’s going there now, to the police station. Does it have to be now? Can’t we have more time together. Simon is heading to the police later, but he has to break up with Marcus first, once and for all. He hesitates before kneeling down next to the bed. If he doesn’t go now, he might lose his nerve. That forehead kiss, it’s so sweet, like he’s saying that everything will be alright, somehow. Like he wants to reassure Wille that it’s not the end, that there’s still love. Just kill me…

August is having a mental breakdown. He knows he can’t get out of this one without help. He knows that maybe the Royal Court can help him sweep the whole matter under the rug… But what if they don’t? He’s not entirely in there yet, he’s not exactly in their good graces yet.

“August, we are counting on you to not give us any problems whatsoever.” You’re on thin ice, August. They forgave you one scandal, they won’t forgive another. “You represent the entire Royal Court now.” Already? It’s like they’re already counting on Wille to give up, and August to need to step up. Way to keep putting the pressure on kids, by the way. Although August is of age, he’s still a fucking kid. But he will be tried as an adult…

“It’s silly, I will take care of it myself,” August says. Then he turns to the person who also already has a vendetta against Wille and Simon…

Listen, my work has let me see people’s different styles of public-speaking. Everyone has a different style, and there are some people that are more natural at it than others, some people seem to have been born for it… and some people just don’t. (And even the people who seem to be natural at it require training, they’re not just born knowing how to do it, it’s just easier for them to get it). I don’t have public-speaking abilities, although I could develop them, but I’m an introvert, and so is Wille. It takes more work than that. It’s not just knowing what to say, because anyone can read words from a page; it’s the delivery, it’s the power behind the words, and it’s the ability to look into a crowd and not lose your nerve… And the fact that they’re forcing him to give a speech at such a young age, during an event of such magnitude, without even giving him some sort of training first, is fucking unfair and mental. They just expect him to be a natural at it. Like becoming the Crown Prince suddenly means that he should be able to. Nah, it doesn’t work like that. It’s not an app or a plugin that you suddenly get, it takes work, especially if you’re not a natural… Fuck the Royal Court and Kristina.

Simon ghosting Marcus, but then showing up. And Marcus being all sour, because he knows, he knows everything. “You haven’t replied in days”. Guess what, Marcus? It’s not really your business. You’re not his boyfriend, no matter how much you wanted to believe it.

“Not compared to a prince, at least.” Fuck you, Marcus, you snob, you don’t know Wille. Wille being a prince is not a plus, it has never been a plus, in fact it’s been the biggest obstacle between them… You’re making Simon sound like an elitist, and that shows how little you know about Simon.

“You only brought me to make him jealous.” Well, you got that part right, but also, he brought you to distract himself, he was trying to move on. He wanted to like you, somewhat... (guess he dodged a bullet there...)

“I told you that I wasn’t ready for a relationship but you haven’t been listening to me.” Yes, and that negates the “perfect” thing. Stop being nice and telling him that he’s perfect, Simon. He’s not. He’s a manipulative snob.

“So it’s my fault that you treated me like crap.” OH WHO’S PLAYING VICTIM NOW…

You, sir, you are the problem. Not even the main one, no. Just a problem in Simon's life. Stop being so annoying.

“You see yourself as some kind of victim among all those brats.” FUCK YOU MARCUS. He IS a victim, he’s an outsider among all the privilege kids, he’s at a disadvantage and constantly reminded of it. He IS a victim of the system, the system rigged in favor of privileged kids, rigged in favor of the Crown, the system that protects powerful people and keeps the cycle of silence and oppression going. And he IS a victim of sexual harassment perpetuated by one of the brats. You have no fucking idea, Marcus. DO NOT believe a word he said, Simon.

And Simon tried to make it right, he tried to apologize, and Marcus just made him feel terrible and accused him of things that weren't even true. Simon doesn’t deserve that.

I still think it's ironic that Rosh and Ayub were like "Ugh, Wille's so toxic, you should totally hook up with Marcus, have a rebound," and Marcus turned out to be the toxic one... I'm not saying that Wille or Simon are perfect, and I know that what Simon did to Marcus was not nice, to ghost him, to use him like that, even if he had made it clear to Marcus that they were not a thing. But Marcus was full of red flags; he is a snob who thinks himself better than the "rich brats" at Hillerska, and doesn't fail to point it out; he calls out Simon for his relationship with Wille by saying that the thing that Simon liked about him was that he was a prince, which is actually the opposite; he absolutely LIED about not watching the sex video, because of course he did and that's probably what sparked his interest and made him approach Simon now, after knowing about him for much longer (everyone in Bjärstad knows each other, and their mums are literally friends, wtf); he used what he knew from his mother about the Eriksson family to manipulate Simon into not breaking things off with him; and he's slightly older so technically there's a slight power dynamic there. And as a final blow he accuses Simon of pretending to be a victim and loving the drama... You know nothing, you jerk...

(It reminded me so much of when August and Felice dated, and August was jealous at Felice's closeness to Wille, then going on and kissing Sara... and of course there's that little "funny" thing he said about her when we first meet him and find out what kind of person he is, and what he thinks of women... Of course August is much worse, the worst in fact, but Marcus was unexpectedly a wolf disguised as a lamb...)

The palatset is decorated with blue and yellow streamers and balloons and Swedish flags and other party decor. There will be a party after the Jubilee.

August with his back turned to the door, like a classic villain…

I think there’s an expression or a proverb or something for wanting something so bad that you would do terrible things to obtain it. There was a Huffington Post opinion article that someone shared on here recently on how the people who want to have power are precisely the people who should have it, whilst the people who are most suited to be in power are the ones who don’t want it at all. Real, good leaders are collaborative, they like to help others shine, they are selfless, they sacrifice. Power-hungry people are easily corrupted by power or by the desire to obtain it… August is so power-hungry he will do anything for it, and yet he’s not aware of what he would have to sacrifice for it and when the time comes he’s just not going to; Sara wants so bad to be part of the elite that she’s willing to screw over her own brother, lie to her friends, join forces with the worst person. Meanwhile, Wilhelm cares so little about being Crown Prince, and Simon has never cared about Wille’s title. In fact, the Crown has been for them both more of a hindrance than a promise… In fact, the only time that Wille uses his title is to weaponize it against August, but it turns him into a pretty bad person; he uses his power to get revenge on August, but it shows an ugly side of him. However, it doesn’t last long, because he’s not a narcissist like August. Once he’s back to being himself, to the person who doesn’t want the title, then he once again becomes perfectly suited for it. Beyond the royal title, beyond the inherited nature of it, Wille’s a good leader, he’s just young and misguided at times. That’s why therapy is so helpful to him, to understand his emotions, to find that balance.

August says he knows that what he did was unforgivable, “But Erik would not have let Simon go to the police.” HOW DARE YOU BRING ERIK INTO THIS. You do not speak for the dead, August.

“So now it’s my responsibility too to protect the Royal Family.” You’re just as bad as the Queen, August. You fit right in.

As it has been pointed out, Alexander doesn’t really work as the scapegoat: the video was recorded when Alexander had already been caught with the drugs; and it makes no sense to pretend that he’d still be in possession of August’s phone when the video was leaked either, a few days later, and already having been expelled. Especially since only a few minutes after the video was leaked, August had his phone with him and even answered a phone call from Minou from the Royal Court. Even if Alexander had had August’s phone, and had been able to record without unblocking the phone (August has an iPhone with a home button, so usually a fingerprint is required), it still would raise the question of when and how the phone was “hacked” to obtain the video, how long the video remained in the phone, etc. And August doesn’t seem to know that the Royal Court is in possession of the most damning evidence of all, the library computer from which he logged in and posted the video… As far as August knows the Queen and the Royal Court found out that it was August because Wille told them, because Felice figured it out and told him. So his whole plan is playing with fire and full of holes anyway. Either he and Alexander are too stupid to realize this, or they’re just counting of Wille getting scared. Which is why they’re warning him about what they’ll do if Simon reports.

And the weirdest thing to me is… Alexander is getting back at Will by willingly taking the blame for CHILD PORNOGRAPHY???? Something that he didn’t actually do???? He’s willing to be known as the guy who filmed the Crown Prince and Simon in an intimate moment and created a video that went infamously viral???? Like that could not have an impact on his future??? For fuck’s sake, he’s dumber than I thought…

But Wille is right, this whole stupid-ass plot won’t stop Simon from going to the police. But the drugs definitely will… There’s no escaping that…

“It’s time to stop this, everything calmed down once you denied the rumors… no one cares about the video.” “I CARE!”

Wille looks ready to commit murder. I would have loved him to use his headbutting skills to give August a nice purple bruise that would look really nice at the Jubilee.

I feel bad for Rousseau. That new owner is a dick.

“I want to be completely honest with you. No more secrets between us” says Felice, and Sara has been the most dishonest of the two this whole time…

“I’m in love with August.” Not “I’ve been sleeping with August” or “I have been seeing August in secret”. LOVE. Whoa.

This whole time Sara really thought that Felice would hate her for being in love with August just because he was her ex, when in reality it’s because Felice knows that August is a terrible person who can’t be trusted and Sara shouldn’t be in love someone like that… not knowing that Sara has been pretty bad herself and should not be trusted.

August being all “What’s this? The police? What is this police of which you speak?” Like he doesn’t know that Simon can knock him down and sit on him again and mash his face into the ground…

“I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to protect the royal family. Maybe you should do the same.” Very well, thinks Wille, picking up the gun to kill August and protect the royal family from the threat that is August.

Simon stepping back, in case Wille does shoot August or something, but not trying to talk him down. “He’s about to confess.” Wille says it, letting him know that he’s serious, this will turn into an “accident” if August doesn’t confess.

It’s been pointed out before that that moment, when Wille is ready to shoot August for what he did to him, to them, when he flinches as Wille shoots into the air, is the first time that Simon sees how much the video leak affected Wille, but also how much he couldn't do anything about it. Even if he denied the whole thing on an interview, people still knew that was him on the video, he was still outed, his privacy was still violated, and his own family still betrayed him, and it changed him forever. And this is all that built up anger coming out. So if Simon still thought that Wille only did badly for a while and then he was fine, now he sees that Wille is deeply traumatized.

When August glances at Sara, Felice already knows… Sara just revealed to her that she’s in love with August, so if she knew that Simon was going to the police, she might have told August. And then Sara confirms it.

The look on Simon’s face when Sara looks guilty. He’s in absolute disbelief. They all are.

“I was in love with him.” This is the first time August is hearing this…

“I thought the damage was done since the video was already out there.” More proof that Sara didn’t really understand what Simon was going through, that it wasn’t just about the video, it was the wedge that was driven between him and Wille, it was the fact that August got away with it, that the Royal Court protected him.

And for all of Sara’s excuses, the fact remains that she chose August over her own brother, even before she was actually in love with August. Which means she chose the privilege that August offered over being loyal to her own brother…

“He wanted to come clean. And I believed him.” Like she really kept it a secret for that reason… No, Sara, you weren’t hoping that August would come clean, you just wanted to live in Manor house and be elite and potentially even become the future Queen…

“It wasn’t enough that you destroyed my family, you had to destroy another one.”

At this point August really believes that Wille might shoot him and starts to beg him not to. It’s like he almost believes that Wille has nothing to lose.

“You don’t even want to be prince.” And August is right. As he watches Simon walk away, Wille drops the gun to go after him, because Simon is much more important than the fucking crown, something that August doesn’t seem to understand, something he will never understand. Wille walks away toward Simon, because he won’t let August destroy that too. (If Wille has ever thought of a long-term future with Simon, of being each other’s family, that’s the family that he wants to protect now.)

“You’re despicable.” Felice realizing what Sara is capable of. Was their friendship real? Was it just convenient to Sara? To have access to Rousseau, to be with the most popular girl in Hillerska? If she betrayed her own brother, what’s keeping Sara from betraying anyone else?

Personally spitting on August is a nice touch. Wille is basically saying “I won’t get my hands dirty because of you, but this is how I feel about you, this is what you’re worth, scum.”

“You were going to confess, August.” Sara doesn’t understand the value of secrecy in this society. Also August confessing was never really a major thing for her until Simon found out and wanted to go to the police. Before that, she was fine with how things were, even when she saw how miserable her brother was…

“You know about the struggle to get what you want… we’re the same, you and I.” August comparing Sara being working class and wanting to fit in in an elite school to him wanting to keep his status and become next in line to the throne… yes, they are the same, but at different levels. I’m not excusing what Sara did, but August is definitely worse. “It’s what I love about you.” What? You love that she became ruthless and deceitful and treacherous? Because that’s what you are…

“I had no other choice.” To be precise, he had no other choice that would keep him out of potentially going to jail.

Simon is keeping all of his emotions inside. Wille hugging him brings them too close to the surface and he’s at risk of them spilling all over… the way his voice trembles as he says “please…”, like he’s about to cry, but he doesn’t want to cry here, not where someone can see him, he just wants to go home, he wants to get away from it all, even Wille. You can’t fix this, he’s basically saying. Everything is destroyed in ways that he didn’t even know, because his own sister, his own family, betrayed him too. It’s not even about just August, it’s also now Sara, and it’s everything that has happened to him since the moment he met Wille. He hasn’t had a moment of peace…

And Wille watches him go, knowing too that he can’t fix it either. And he’s still trapped…

Kristina doesn’t even know what Wille’s crying about, she just comforts him, sort of… and he smiles sort of (because despite what she has done to him, she’s still his mother, he still wants to trust her, be comforted by her). But she doesn’t ask him what’s wrong.

Simon’s face and eyes are raw from crying. He called his friends, who know the whole story, to vent… And Ayub and Rosh immediately jump to the conclusion that Sara must have been brainwashed by August to have done this, otherwise she would be incapable… is clear that they don’t know her either.

Linda, again, what’s up with you? Your son looks like he’s been crying himself raw, and his friends look morose. How do you not get that something more is going on…? Simon doesn’t want her to know, anyway, because it would break her heart. He’s the protector, he wants to protect his family. I agree with a lot of people who say that the events of that day show Simon that Wille really had no choice, that he was after all just acting like everything was fine but he was most definitely not fine. After seeing how he pointed a gun at August, nearly losing it, it's clear to Simon that Wille's never intended to protect August, but had not choice but to put up with him; that of course he was traumatized by the leaked video, but he was forced to deny it. And after finding out that even his own sister had betrayed him, Simon realizes that he has no choice either, that someone else will always have the upper hand. So now he will have to change his strategy if he wants to protect those he cares about, including Wille. “If everyone is going to protect their families, then I’ll do the same.” Simon is a lot like his mother, he sacrifices a lot for his family. Linda looks like she understands. She is proud of Simon and she will support whatever he decides.

(gif by @almostliving84, because I don't know how to search for it in the gifs search bar when I already know where the gif is...)

As I mentioned before, Kristina also went to Hillerska, she knows about the palatset, she knows about the secrecy culture. Her choice to send Wille to Hillerska was never really about making him into a proper prince, it was about keeping him out of the public eye so he could do whatever he wanted without it becoming a scandal. A plan which majorly backfired when the secrecy cycle was broken… by August of all people…

“Your mother is not as innocent as she’d like to appear.” Yes, we know. “Stop it, don’t put ideas into his head.” Don’t worry, Kristina, your son will never ever be like you.

Wilhelm looking in pain as he is forced to participate in this charade. “How are you, gubben?” Now she asks. Boy has been moping since before you got there, and you didn’t even care, until now when it’s too obvious to ignore.

“It just creates new and bigger problems.” The way that the video, that everything has been handled, is nothing new; everything that doesn’t fit into the mold is swept under the rug, every wrinkle is ironed out, and then everyone goes on pretending like nothing happened.

“It’s important to talk about your emotions, but you can talk to us about anything.” “But it’s not enough.” Indeed it’s not. Krissy, you wanted him to talk to a psychologist, but that’s not the solution to the problem. Wille has finally understood why he feels the way he feels, and he’s learned to communicate. But it’s not enough, what’s the point of talking if nothing happens? If nothing changes? He’s expected to learn to handle his emotions, but the root of the problem, of the thing causing his distress, his anxiety, remains untouched. The monarchy, the cycle of secrecy, the traditions… everything stays the same…

The crowd of girls gathered outside the room. Either word spreads really freaking fast, or Sara took a very long time to go back to her room… Or did Felice leave the door open and then start telling Stella and Fredrika about it so loudly that everyone heard? Judging from the fact that just now the housemistress arrives, maybe it hasn’t been that long…

Sara very subtly threatens Stella with outing her. She unfortunately doesn’t realize how much like August she is. Making threats when she doesn’t have the upper hand, when she’s being called out.

“Sara has proven that she’s not a friend. She’s not loyal.” Obviously Felice can’t talk about the real reason why Sara’s betrayal is so big, not in front of Stella, Fredrika or the housemistress, but she makes it very clear to Sara.

“I don’t know what happened, I’ve never been in love before.” But again, Sara wasn’t in love with August when she decided to keep this huge secret from Simon. She might have had been catching feelings, because they kissed and she was curious, but still she made that choice to get an advantage. “I could always tell right from wrong, but with him it all seemed right.” Bullshit, she always knew it was wrong. Otherwise she wouldn’t have threatened to tell Wille last season; otherwise she wouldn’t have implied to Simon that a person can’t help what they feel, when Simon felt rotten about “cheating” on Marcus. She knew it was wrong. “You’re so totally full of shit,” Felice calls her out. It’s been months of secrecy at this point.

August texting “Please, I feel like shit.” You should. The drugs he claimed he would stop taking soon beckon him. Another lie. Then he looks in the mirror as he practices the speech and says “to make you proud.” Irony.

Wilhelm is lying in bed, bathed in red light, and I first missed the symbolism of him playing with Erik’s lighter… playing with fire… Cities on fire, won’t you burn it all… before he looks at Erik’s cigarette case… He’s thinking of Erik, he still feels the weight of his title and the commitment of living up to his brother’s memory and legacy, but also maybe he’s wondering what Erik would tell him to do in this situation…

(Could not find these gifs in the search bar either, so I found it in @levok s page, thank you for it. Seriously, if anyone can teach this loser -me- to search for gifs when you already know where it is, so that it shows up with the credit and all, please teach me so I can fix this, and all the previous posts. Thank you.)

Never not loving the scene of Ayub and Simon talking as they’re both falling asleep, that’s a really supportive friend, we all deserve an Ayub. “But he wants to keep it a secret, and you don’t.” Not quite; Wille doesn’t want their relationship to be a secret, he he just knows that it was an option proposed by his mother, and he was desperate enough to consider it. Simon tells Ayub about the possibility of him and Wille being a secret relationship until they’re eighteen. As far as we know, he hadn’t thought about that again, since Wille mentioned it in the locker room, because he had pretty much discarded that option as insulting. Because it made him feel like a dirty little secret… But now… now it seems like an option again, maybe the only option… to be with Wille, even if it has to be secret. He’s also bathed in red light as he ponders it…

“Only you can decide,” says Ayub. The light turns from blue (the color of calm, security and inner reflection) to purple (the color of royalty, but also as the combination of blue and red, it contains the stability of blue and the energy of red, and it also symbolizes spirituality, creativity and wisdom, and perhaps more importantly, it’s the color of resistance of the queer community) to red (the color of love and passion), signaling that Simon might have already made his choice.

The stage is set; the Swedish flag, the pomp and circumstance… On the bus, Simon looks pretty serene. Like he already knows, he’s already made up his mind. He just hopes he doesn’t regret it. Meanwhile, Wille practices the speech, resigned to following the charade, fitting into the perfect image of a crown prince.

Felice emerges from a room (a random room under the stairs? I had decided in my head that she either went to Stella and Fredrika’s room, or even more likely to Madison’s, and slept on the floor, but the way that she leaves the door open…), to find Sara gone, the expensive riding pants the girls gifted her left behind, a major symbol of how she realized that she’s never going to fit in with the girls at Manor house. (By the way, how long did Sara take to go from Manor house to the entrance, if Felice found her gone already, but by the time the jubilee is already happening and people are arriving she hasn’t even left the premises…? How fucking far is Manor house from the main gate??)

August arriving like nothing’s happened. He thinks he’s in. He still has to stand on the back of pictures, but he’s still living it. Kristina looking at Wille like she’s gauging how committed he is to the charade, to pretending that there’s no bad blood with August.

Vincent and Nils tease August, like there’s no bad blood anymore either. Do they know he’s next in line, did he tell them?

Wille glances at August, sees how different they’re acting in that lineup. Whilst Wille feels so awkward and stifled, August looks like he fits right in. If it weren’t because he detests him, he’d give it all up to August, who actually likes performing like this.

August is so ecstatic about how well he’s doing that he momentarily forgot about Sara. Until he sees her. Things are not perfect, indeed.

August buying Rousseau for Sara thinking that’s what she wanted. No, she wanted you to be a better person. You can’t throw money at everything. And also yes, of course she wanted Rousseau, but how do you expect her to take care of it???? She has no money. Then as she leaves, he calls weakly after her, but then he walks the other way. Clearly he has his priorities in the right order, and she’s not as important to him as everything else.

Simon signals to Wille that he wants to talk. Wille probably thought that everything had gone to shit again, that Simon would never speak to him again… again… They go into the coat room, the place where they had their first kiss, where everything started… Wille is so tense, he’s so afraid of what Simon is going to say. He listens, apprehensive, until he realizes where Simon is going… “It’s not worth destroying our families over that. And it’s not worth destroying what we have.” Simon and Wille somehow, deep down, might already think of each other as family, as each other’s future. My heart…

“I want to be with you. Even if it has to be a secret.” The tension melts. “But no more secrets between us.” The little smile of joy, the little relieved exhale, the excited little nod… and meanwhile Simon is smiling so big that his eyes crinkle. Then Wille takes his hand, because he’s allowed again… Then they look at each other and they hug, and Wille is home again. He’s happy again. They both are. They still have each other.

And then Simon says ‘I love you’, and Wilhelm has been hoping to hear those words for so long, the confirmation that Simon feels the same way, and he realizes that it does not deserve to be a secret. He doesn’t want it to be a secret. That they both deserve more. That he wants to love Simon openly. If anything else happens that jeopardizes them being together, he can’t allow it. He hasn’t decided what he’s going to do yet, or when, but he needs to make sure that they (the Court) can’t go back on their promise of letting him be with Simon. He’a willing to fight tooth and nail for that. He can’t let anything get between them again.

Jan-Olof interrupts them (asshole), and Simon immediately backs away, drops his arms, but Wille is not so fazed, he’s almost defiant. He wants to touch and caress Simon so bad, but he can’t be as effusive as he wishes, because someone is watching, and that’s how it would be all the time. But he gives in for the moment, walking away casually. And Simon is being so brave about it, knowing that they’re good, that they’re finally on the same page, even if they’re not entirely happy with the page.

Sara hears the choir begin to sing. She is missing out on the event that she was sort of preparing for, imagining having to greet the Queen, learning what to say. She is once again an outsider looking in (or rather listening in). The event has lost its meaning.

Meanwhile Wille watches as Simon performs with the crowd, looking dejected, just another member of the group. Knowing what Simon can do as a soloist, knowing how much he loves hearing Simon sing, knowing that that was supposed to be a song written by Simon, a song he was proud of, a song that (he later found out) was about him, it really highlights how unfair and outdated the system is, to deny one student, one talented choir singer, to stand out.

Sara might change schools next season, now that I think about it. What if she’s too ashamed to return? Continuing to attend Hillerska would mean enduring gossip about her, hateful looks from Felice and Simon, judgement from Wille and the rest of the people who know what she did (Stella, Fredrika, the rest of the girls at Manor House, etc.) and having to encounter August.

In a misguided attempt to make things right with her brother, she calls the police to report August. She should not have made that call, not only because we know it might make things worse now, but also because it was not her place to make the report, it was Simon’s.

Wilhelm braving his anxiety and feeling ill and making a last second decision to do the speech, because he saw Simon’s worried face when smug August starts walking toward the podium. Giving up this moment to August means giving everything to August, and it means they win. They, the Crown, the Royal Court, the system, they win. And Wille can’t let that happen, he needs to regain control of the narrative again, for himself and for Simon. This is it, this is his chance, anxiety be damned.

The confused look on everyone’s faces. What the hell was that about? August’s face as he is forced to sit his ass back down. The “torture”, the humiliation at the hands of Wille continues. Karma, bitch.

And Krissy looking so proud, thinking that her plan worked. But no mi ciela, it wasn’t August that ultimately lit the fire under Wille, it was Simon. His decision to step up is not driven by hate, but by love.

I don’t think that Wille knew what he was going to say when he stood up to do the speech, he just knew that he couldn’t let August take over, because then it wasn’t only him and Simon getting stuck with August, it was everyone else. Taking away August’s chance to give the jubilee speech, for example, is not about having revenge on August anymore, it’s about fulfilling his leadership role, and realizing that if he doesn’t, then there won’t be a leader, but a power-hungry narcissist “in charge”.

Wille chooses to lead by example, stopping the cycle of silence and secrecy by telling the truth, being honest, and if he had let August, August would basically lead by example too but by continuing that cycle of secrecy and silence.

Also Wille standing up to do the speech instead of August was at first about putting Simon’s feelings first, before his own feelings of unease and anxiety. Simon who has just been hit in the face with such revelations, like Sara’s betrayal, and how far August was willing to go to screw him over and Wille, his threat to use his father’s drugs against him… and it’s so clear on his face how much he’s putting up with August for his and Wille’s sake, now having to be a part of the people who have to pretend that they don’t know that August committed sexual harassment against them, that August exposed them to the world and ruined their lives, Simon has to hide his feelings, his distress at knowing that, despite all those things, at any moment August just gets everything he’s ever wanted, he’s Wille’s backup, he’s one step closer to his beloved Crown… And Wille’s not having it. Not for himself anymore, but for Simon. He will sacrifice his own freedom for Simon, and for the greater good.

The girl with the phone thinking “whoa, he’s going off-script. Better stream this.” Simon looking nervous, knowing what’s coming. Boris looking so proud and amused. And Krissy on the verge of a fit, silently begging “stop”...

When Wille says “it was me in the video, the video of me and Simon,” the camera cuts to several faces, including of course the Queen and Simon, and a moment earlier to Boris looking all proud. But it wasn’t until the Netflix reel announcing Season 3, when they did the 12 Days of Christmas song, in the part where it goes “Four pretty words”, the four faces being shown are Simon, Kristina, Boris… and Stella… Stella looking shocked. I hadn’t realized that the first face they cut to after Wille mentions Simon is Stella’s. They focused, albeit briefly, on her reaction to Wille coming out… of course Stella’s sexuality is going to be a big thing next season, but I love how they focused on her, making it obvious that we’ll learn more about her.

I thought it was a nice little detail that the two students whom we see filming Wille, when Wille says that it was a private moment, they both look up from the screen of their cameras and instead look directly at Wille.

The cameras flashing at Simon, at his distressed face. Foreboding. And yet he smiles.

Wilhelm knows that what’s coming now is going to be difficult, but at least he’ll have Simon by his side. He glances skyward, as if to check with Erik, wondering if he’s proud of his little brother. Yes, Wille, I think Erik would be really proud.

He then looks defiantly at us, like he knows we’re here, watching, and his lips curl into the faintest of smiles, a rebellious, daring smirk. He has regained control.

My royals babies have truly been through the wringer, and I know that yet more challenges will arise for them in the third season. But they will be together, they will face them together, and although they have been changed forever, in good ways and bad ways, they have made each other stronger

[alaanz]

I love the seriousness and natural approach that the last episode of between us took.

Both of them went through something very distressing. Team almost drowned again and Win almost saw team drown in front of him. And they were both effected by what happened in different ways.

Win backed away, afraid of having to lose someone that is starting to become very important to him. He’s never had anything that has truly been his before and so this is the first time he’s experiencing this feeling, and it scares him. Seeing someone almost die in front of you is gonna fuck you up regardless, but it just mixed with all of Wins insecurities that he’s not dealt with yet and resulted in him moving away.

Team just went through his second near death experience and relived the trauma he went through from when he was younger. What he needed most was someone to lean on, someone there to hold him up when his life was fucked around again. He needs this stability and normality to ground him in the present and stop him from going back to when he was younger. On the first night Win is able to offer him this which was very beneficial for team and gave him what he needed right then. But then the next day Win completely blocked him out.

There’s no doubt that Win leaving will have reminded team of his own brother. Team feels immense guilt over what happened to his brother (I’m not sure is he’s dead or not) and so Win now leaving, the guilt is just going to grow. He was reckless again and now another important person to him has left. This guilt over his own actions won’t have just left when Win came back in the evening. This is something he’s going to keep hold of, knowing that Win could have ended the same way that his brother once did.

Next episode I hope that we’ll see Win and Team talk more about Team’s past and what he’s going through. Re-living trauma is going to leave an effect on him and there’s no way he’s going to easily move past this. And from the looks of the trailer for next episode we might just get this.

Also, side note, I LOVE WAAN AND TUL! Nah like actually, they’re such an interesting side couple and have a really interesting story going on. Both characters are so engaging and their chemistry is so good. I’m honestly really looking forward to how their relationship progresses through the season.

And once again, loving the extra little insights into Dean. I love this man and it just adds more depth to his characters, which is so cool.

[moonlightreal]

Grumbling about Carnival Row season 2

Because of course all shows should follow what I want! XD 

And I wanted a show about Philo and Vignette, who fought so hard to be together and find true love in dark times, to be badass rebel partners working together to help the fae.  Sneaking kids out of the barbed wire to safety, possibly safety in some other country where Imogen and Agreas ended up… Instead the writers are like, “Nah, they break up!”  Gaaaaah!

As I watched the last few episodes I started to notice things that just felt… missing.  Like there were bits I expected to see and they never turned up, leaving previously important bits of plot to dangle in the breeze.

-Tourmaline being taken over by evil magic.  She needs to stop doing magic or it’ll completely take her over!  Then she… does a bunch more magic but she’s fine.  Could we at least have had a scene at the end where she does a cleansing ritual or bathes in a sacred spring and says she feels much better knowing the haruspex’s icky spirit is gone forever?  Maybe the kiss of true love banished it.

-The fae plague.  There was a plague! People were dying!  Then the plot just kind of moved on.  We never got a search for a cure.  Vignette didn’t catch it, which I thought she might.  We didn’t learn it was the humans poisoning the wells, which I also thought might have been happening.

-Imogen’s sudden freakout at Agreus.  they’re in love, some terribly traumatic things happened, and suddenly she was breaking up with him because he was just another man trying to control her—and then the plot moved on, Agreus gets kidnapped, and then they were back together.  It makes sense that Imogen might have gone off the rails due to trauma but I feel like we missed a scene where after his escape she runs to him and they kiss, and then a later scene where she says, “Sorry I wigged out there, but being controlled by men is something that bothers me a lot.” and Agreus says, “Totally understandable what with your entire history.  Let’s talk about how we can make sure you never feel like I’m trying to get the upper hand.”

-Philo’s whole parentage.  He almost reveals his lineage, the plot gets in the way, then it’s never mentioned until the end where he’s refusing to become chancellor with an impassioned speech.  And what about being greater than his father?  Killing the sparas was pretty badass but I don’t think it counts as full on greatness.  There was a whole heckin’ prophecy!

-Philo’s evil twin he was hallucinating after one too many whacks to the head.  I mean I’m glad that didn’t go on, but it’s another thing that just kinda randomly stopped.  

-Tirnanoc is… saved?  It was all so off screen, the Pact was driven out, the Burgish government was planning underhanded stuff to conquer it themselves (instead of just taking the refugees out to sea and dumping them overboard like I thought the reveal would be) and then… the plot moved on.  Did we get anything in the very pretty happy ending to suggest why the next chancellor won’t go out and conquer it again?  

-Jonah and Sophie.  Jonah had so much character potential.  Was he a decent person underneath?  Was he going to see through Sophie’s blandishments and stand up as a decent guy or fall into corruption? Could he and Philo have any kind of relationship, for good or ill? And what were Sophie’s plans now that she owns half the manufacturing in the Burgue?  What else was she up to behind the scenes?  What’s up with her faun friend?  This plotline wasn’t abandoned but suddenly cut off, but I was really keen to see where it was going!

I know this is just my opinions but did the end of the season hit anyone else this way? I didn’t hate the second season or anything.  I love the visuals of the show so much, I was invested in what was happening, and watching Imogen come into her own was just a joy.  But this feeling that the story was trying to go places and never quite getting there..!

[lesbiangallagher]

Fandom tag!! thank u for tagging me @suchagallabitch 🥰

Your First Fandom(s): i wasn’t going to do this but fuck it, here’s all the fandoms i remember being in: south park, left 4 dead, pokemon, homestuck, the book of mormon, les mis, the lorax, camp lazlo, one direction, shameless us (there’s more but i do not remember currently)

How did you first get into fandom? i liked writing self insert fic and i used to spend hours on youtube watching AMVs to like, bullet for my valentine in 2007 lol i found ffnet and deviantart soon after and the rest is history!

How long have you been engaging with fandom spaces? 2007 so officially 16 years. i was 11 reading south park yaoi

How often do you read fanfics? i open ao3 every single morning to see if any of my favorite wips have been updated. i love wips, i used to not read them bc i was always afraid the writer would abandon it but now i’ll read absolutely anything. i love the journey of reading wips now. it’s like my morning newspaper

Top 3 characters from your current fandom(s): mickey milkovich, ian gallagher, and now retsuko from aggretsuko…i feel like i am in no fandom rn, just passin by. i’m like the old man that lives on the edge of town who still comes to the street events

Have you ever written a fic for a fandom? yeah i’ve written a bunch of drabbles on my blog and uploaded two finished works, both one shots for the spicy gallavich collab 2021 and 2022…i am particularly proud of this year’s spicy fic. somehow reached 11k words and it’s about lesbians mickey and ian 💃 search lesbiangallagher on ao3. but in the past i feel like i’ve written at least one fic for every fandom i’ve been in…and i’ve been in a LOT of fandoms lol but they’re all on my old blog that only og rocco fans know about

Have you ever drawn fanart for a fandom? if so, shout it out! nah i’ve never been a fanart type of creator. i’m sure i’ve drawn characters jokingly or something

Share a personal headcanon that you feel very strongly about: since 2014, i have a HARD and STRONG headcanon that mickey is a trans dude

You're trying to convince a friend to get into your current fandom(s) with you. what episode, clip, or scene are you showing them? i don’t want anyone to get on the shameless US train because it was a whole lot of suffering but if i had to: the episode where they steal the meat from the meat truck. for aggretsuko: the episode where ton and retsuko go at it at karaoke

And finally, what does fandom mean to you? it’s always been an ~escape~ for me, where all my unhinged thoughts are welcome. i’ve seen just about everything at this point, but i still love the idea of community who bond over One niche thing

SECOND TAG ok slay!!!

name: rocco

age: i’ll be 27 in may 😵‍💫

Where in the world are you? georgia, us of a

The meaning behind your URL: i’m lesbian ian gallagher

Your second favourite color: i guess it’s orangey yellow

any pets? my cat, minky and two birds merlin and mulder

favourite season? fall

Last thing you read: new update of dead meet🫣

Last song you listened to: lavender haze by miss swift

What are you wearing right now? black skeleton dress and cooking apron

A hobby of yours: i read a LOT, i’ll read practically anything lol. now that i have a new glasses prescription, i feel invincible

and finally, what are you up to today? currently making breakfast and getting ready for vacation this week 😗

i don’t know who’s all been tagged but feel free to do this!! i am always reminded of myspace with these lol

[fictionalreads]

Love is Blind Season 4 Episode 2

Tiffany and Brett

What’s hilarious is he was all butt hurt and she was almost jokingly like “damn I feel bad I fell asleep”

Damn she super straight forward.

CALLED IT!! The first proposal

Answer the man before he assumes you fell asleep again.

OH THE REVEAL

I don’t know if I’m feeling this turtleneck Brett

I like her dress though.

Damn y’all crying? They’re cute together.

Jackie and Marshall

Oof the parental trauma is coming out.

Oh nah your dad was emotionally abusive. There’s a difference between pushing your kid to be their best (and going overboard, unintentionally) and just being mean.

Oh I like Marshall!!!! Why didn’t we see more of him in the first episode?!

Oh she in love for real.

She ain’t saying it back. Is she going to choose the other guy?

That seems manipulative to me. Like making her choose you by saying if it’s not her it’s nobody.

Okay Marshall calm down. Kind of a red flag that you’re going from 0 to 100 that quick. I mean I don’t like the mind games either but no need to fight. This is all part of the process.

Yes. Listen to Brett. Calm down and let that shit go. It’s how the experience works.

Damn you Josh. Why you gotta get into it.

But this isn’t a game Josh. Go away. I don’t like my first impression of you. I could be wrong but I get a vibe.

Kwame and Micah

I just don’t see the appeal.

Damn why get the man’s hopes up? Why not just tell him straight up that you want Paul.

Man is heartbroken.

Nah you ain’t alone. It was fucked up cause she said one thing one date then broke up with you the next.

AWE HE’S SOBBING OVER HER I FEEL SO BAD FOR HIM

What did you want him to do? Break down and beg you? If you don’t want him, you don’t want him and he’s just trying to accept that with dignity.

Oh she’s such a bitch! Irina was just trying to help no need to snap at her!

Paul and Amber

Paul just say it. Don’t fuck around and make it worse for her. Just say it.

If it’s that hard to break up with her, maybe it’s not the right move.

Kwame leave that convo. It’s masochistic. Don’t lose your shit with him.

Kwame and Chelsea

Yeah it hurts that he’s hurt over someone else. Nobody wants to hear that. Nobody wants to feel like a second choice.

I know circumstance led to him focusing on Chelsea but I’m so glad cause I was rooting for the two of them. I just don’t like Micah.

Paul and Micah

Paul that fit seems too big for you.

I don’t think they’ll last.

Zack and Bliss (and Irina)

Zack please choose Bliss. I don’t like Irina as a person.

Irina why are you starting shit? It’s gross that as a grown ass woman, you’re doing this shit.

I’m his defense he doesn’t see that side of her. He doesn’t see her at all. All he knows is what she tells him.

Miscellaneous

LMAO Chelsea is hilarious. Singing Usher to wake her up, but what’s funnier is it worked.

I never understood why they get all dressed up for the pods. Like. They can’t see you.

Irina I’m starting to not like you because you’re giving in to Micah’s bitchiness.

Micah and Irina are bitches!! Jackie is in crisis and y’all are joking/laughing about it.

I like Bliss and Chelsea.